A few weeks ago, I was listening to my favorite "science is cool" radio show, RADIO LAB and decided to put on my lab coat and use Luke as a guinea pig. Don't worry, there were no muscle biopsies, blood samples or extremely intense bike time trials. Instead it involved cookies.
The program I listened to had an interview from Columbia University psychologist Walter Mischel. In the 1960s, Mischel tested hundreds of 4-year-olds with marshmallows and Oreo cookies and found some very interesting stuff about willpower and delayed gratification.
Mischel put a 4-year-old in a room alone with a marshmallow or a cookie on a table and told the child he was going to leave the room. He said told the child not to eat the cookie, and if they waited until he got back, they could have two cookies.
Some kids ate the cookies right away, and others waited. One day he was talking with his daughter a few years later (who was used in the study along with many of her friends) and was asking how Jenny or Bobby was doing. He noticed that the kids who resisted the treat were doing better than the kids who ate the cookie. So he did a follow up study and found that the kids who showed self control had better SAT scores, had more education, were more healthy - all kinds of crazy things.
So, with Luke being 4, I decided to give it a try. I was a little afraid - what if he ate the cookie?
I put the cookie in front of him, gave him the speech, walked away, and with a sigh of relief, heard him singing "Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?". Great strategy - distraction. After about 15 minutes, I told him he was all done, he could have an ice cream sandwich, and that I expect great things out of him.
Disclaimer: if you listen to the interview of Mischel, he will be the first to tell you that there are always outliers, and that if a child eats a cookie, it really doesn't mean that your child is doomed to a certain path. He also talks about how you can teach your children certain self control strategies. So you can tell your kids you expect great things out of them, whether or not they eat the cookie.
5 comments:
Um...I just tried this experiment with Alex. Cookies were all gone. Should I be worried?
A second question: what if I ate three cookies while setting up for the experiment?
I think the Spjute family is in trouble...
maybe we could take a delayed gratification course from Luke? We need to have it in CA though. And having Miles, Travis, and you there would be necessary as well...you know, support system.
Kate,
You guys have already accomplished great things, so you can eat as many cookies as you want. And clearly this study has many flaws, such as how hungry your are during the study, how appealing the treat is, stress levels, if you just finished watching Heidi Klum on Project Runway, etc. Stick a plate of brownies in front of me and they will sit there all day, but Kate's Christmas cinnamon ring? I could be 4 or 44 and it doesn't stand a chance.
If it were a piece of fudge instead of a cookie, I could go forever without eating it.
On second thought, I'd probably go ahead and eat it because eating one piece of fudge immediately wouldn't be as bad as having to eat two pieces of fudge later.
Question: Was the cookie frozen?
Because if it wasn't, I'd put it in the freezer before eating it. For a regular Oreo (not double stuff), freezing time is about 17 minutes at altitude, so I'd be home free. Double-stuff Oreos take 30% longer.
If it were frozen, it would be much harder to resist, but resisting would get easier as the cookie defrosted.
Mmmmmmm. Ice cream sandwiches.
Hey Heidi. It's been too long since I have said hello. So hi! I don't have your email to add you to my blog. But, our change blog name is tregaskesfamily.blogspot.com. My email is briaunat@gmail.com Email me your email and I will add you to our blog.
I am going to try that experiment on Grayson. I am curious to see what he does. I hope all is well. Where do you guys lives now?
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